Battlestar Galactica is simply one of the most popular television shows right now. Again, having some of the most beautiful and visually enticing space battle seen in quite a while definitely adds to the attraction. Unfortunately, this can not be said of Battlestar Glactica, the downloadable PC game and the Xbox Live Arcade. The entire intricacy of the television series has been discarded for an annoying and twitch heavy arcade game play experience.

Battlestar Galactica the arcade game you will not be piloting in the cockpit of a Viper since the game play is from a top down view. Established loosely on the initial three seasons of the series (exactly up to the exodus from New Caprica set at the start of the third season), Battlestar Galactica allows you to fly as a Colonial fighter pilot in several space crafts. Although the maneuvering characteristics are a bit different between space crafts, the overall premise of the game stays the same. You pilot a space craft in a 2D space combat arena, utilizing guns and missiles to eliminate enemy space crafts. Even though, it is an arcade game, Battlestar enthusiasts were almost certainly expecting more depth and detail than what was provided.

The game’s visuals are inconsistent and patchy. As an example, the fighters are rendered in fitting detail, but the other elements in the game are detailed in quite low polygon and low resolution like the Cylon Basestars or Galactica herself. Plus, the sound effects appear to be taken directly from the television series, thus you can hear the unique sound of a Viper’s cannons firing, although since all of the dialogue is seen as text on screen, the game does not feature any type of voice acting. Additionally, the game lacks Bear McCreary’s magnificent and impressive Battlestar musical score, which is quite strange since this is an officially licensed game.

This arcade game most likely will not interest diehard Battlestar Galactica fans since it just does not portray the essence or the intricacy of its television inspiration.